This Easy Homemade French Bread is the perfect bakery-style bread with a crispy crust and a chewy centre – made with only 5 simple ingredients!
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One of my favourite things to bake is homemade bread and this Easy Homemade French Bread is one of our family’s favourite homemade breads. I love to make it to serve with my homemade Beef Stew and Butternut Squash Soup, and everyone just gobbles it up! It’s easy to make with basic ingredients an no special kitchen equipment!
Baking homemade bread can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’ve got a mixing bowl and spoon, a baking sheet, and basic ingredients like flour, water, salt and yeast, you can easily bake this Easy Homemade French Bread! Be sure to follow all my pro-tips and troubleshooting advice below to make the perfect loaf!
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How to Make Soft and Chewy French Bread {Pro Tips!}
- Add some vital wheat gluten (a concentrated gluten flour). Adding 1 tablespoon to this recipe with the flour will help the bread rise beautifully and make it nice and chewy on the inside with a delicious crust. If you don’t have any, don’t worry. It’s not a necessary ingredient!
- Expect a wet dough. Be careful that you don’t add too much flour if the dough feels a bit sticky. The dough should be moist and sticky, so only add just enough flour so it doesn’t stick to the work surface or your hands too much. Adding too much flour will make the bread heavy, dense and dry.
- Let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes or so before shaping. This will give the gluten time to develop a bit and help with the second rise.
- Roll the loaves gently but tightly to prevent cracking. Rolling the loaves too loosely with cause air pockets to develop within the loaf that will burst while baking (this causes the loaf to crack in the oven) and rolling too tightly can also cause the loaf to burst.
- Score the dough. This will help the loaves bake evenly and prevent them from bursting on top while baking.
- Use an egg wash. Brushing the loaves with egg wash before baking helps create the perfect glossy crust.
- Bake in a very hot oven. Baking french bread at 400 degrees creates a delicious golden brown and crispy exterior and a fluffy, chewy interior.
How to Make French Bread – Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make French bread by hand?
Yes! Simply knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface after mixing the ingredients together by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. You’ll need to knead the dough for about 6-7 minutes.
Can I make French bread in a stand mixer?
Yes! Simply add the ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low speed until your dough forms. Knead on low for about 3-4 minutes.
Do I need a special pan to make French bread?
No! You can bake French bread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
What kind of yeast should I use when making French bread?
You can use instant yeast or active dry yeast to make this bread – whether you use active dry or instant, the measurement is the same.
Do I need a bread lame or scoring knife to make French bread?
No! Simply use a very sharp kitchen knife.
How do I score French bread loaves?
Use a very sharp knife and make about 5-6 cuts on each loaf, only about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep.
Can I freeze homemade French bread?
Yes! Simply store in an airtight container or bag for up to 2 months.
Why isn’t my dough rising?
- Your kitchen is cold or drafty. Bread dough rises best in a warm place (try the inside of your cold oven).
- Your yeast is old. Old yeast won’t work. To test your yeast if you’re not sure, dissolve it in the water with the sugar first. If it bubbles and grows after a few minutes, it’s still good.
- You used very hot water and killed the yeast. Hot water will kill the yeast and prevent your bread dough from rising. Use lukewarm or room temperature water for best results.
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I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite homemade bakery-style bread recipe? I’d love to know!
KITCHEN TOOLS I RECOMMEND:
LOOKING FOR MORE BREAD BAKING RECIPES AND TIPS?
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Looking for even more delicious bakery-style bread recipes?
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- No Knead Honey Oat Artisan Bread
- No Knead Jalapeno Cheese Artisan Bread
- No-Knead Cranberry Honey Walnut Artisan Bread
- No Knead Whole Wheat Artisan Bread
- Quick and Easy No Knead Crusty Bread
- Easy White Sandwich Bread
- Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls
- Healthier Cornbread
- Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
- Easy No Knead Artisan Bread
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel
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Easy Homemade French Bread
Recipe: Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups lukewarm water
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 6 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons cool water
Recipe: Instructions
- Add the water, yeast and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer (or to a large mixing bowl if you're making the bread by hand). Mix together with a fork and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Once the yeast mixture is bubbly, add 5 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt (be sure the salt doesn't touch the yeast mixture directly - mix it in with the flour first).
- Mix on low speed (if using a stand mixer) until the dough comes together, adding the last half cup of flour as the mixer begins to knead the dough. Let the mixer knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes on low speed.
- If making by hand, knead the dough for about 6-7 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
- Let the ball of dough rest in the bowl to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, and cover the bowl with some plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
- After 1 1/2 hours punch the dough down and scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (flour your hands as well). Let the ball of dough sit, covered, for about 5-10 minutes before shaping.
- To shape the dough, divide the dough in half (this recipe makes two loaves). Roll the first half out into a rectangle about 16 inches by 18 or 20 inches. Roll the dough up tightly into a long snake-shaped loaf, making sure you roll tightly enough that there are no large gaps of air between the pieces of dough.
- Pinch the ends together tightly to seal them and flip the loaf over, placing it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Repeat these steps for the second loaf to shape it as well.
- Score the loaves with a sharp knife very carefully, creating 5 or 6 cuts on the top of each loaf about 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch thick.
- Cover the loaves and let them rise for another 20-25 minutes, covered with a clean kitchen towel.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine the egg and water in a small bowl and brush the mixture very gently over the top of the bread just before baking.
- Bake the loaves for about 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool almost completely before slicing and serving.
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Does it matter which end you start at when you roll the bread…. short or long .?
You should roll the bread starting at the long end. Happy Baking!
Can I cut recipe in half?
Yes, definitely!
Is bread flour a fine substitute for the all purpose?? Super excited to try this out!
Yes, as long as you use white bread flour. Happy baking ☺️
Perfect recipe!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Can you refrigerate and or freeze the dough?
Yes, you can both refrigerate or freeze it, but our favourite way to do it is to freeze the bread after it’s baked. I freeze it wrapped in plastic wrap and in a ziplock bag to protect it from freezer burn. I take it out the night before I need it, remove the plastic wrap and leave it in the bag on the counter.
How can you store the bread? And for how long?
You can store it in an airtight container or a ziplock bag, on the counter for 3-5 days.
Can I use unbleached all purpose flour?
Yes.
How much would I hace to adjust my baking time if I made one big loaf instead of 2 loaves? Also, would this still bake the same if I put it in a Dutch oven?
I’m sorry, unfortunately we’ve never tried that so I couldn’t tell you exactly how to modify the baking time but I know for sure that it would bake differently in a Dutch oven. Depending on the size and shape of the dutch oven it might not even look like a french bread anymore.
Making it for the second time. It is so easy and tastes great. Thanks so sharing.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
I have the recipe as we never need more than half a loaf at a time, it was so easy to follow your instructions and the result is fantastic! Thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
If I wanted to make one bug loaf instead of 2 smaller ones, how long would i bake for?
Could I make into 4- 6 mini loaves? And how would I change the bake time? Thanks!
You could, however, we have never tried it ourselves so I couldn’t tell you exactly how to change the baking time, but if you do try, please let us know! Happy baking ☺️
So good! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed our recipe!